In today’s electronic world, the idea of property has changed dramatically. In the past, when you were putting together an estate plan, the only intangible property that might be a part of it was certain types of securities. Now, however, you can have e-mail...

Perhaps the most common way to transfer property upon death in the State of New York is through a valid will or trust. What happens, though, if you’ve entered into a binding contract to transfer certain property to a specific beneficiary under you will, but...

It’s pretty common procedure for a fiduciary to a trust to obtain a release, with the objective of waiving the fiduciary’s obligation to provide an accounting of the assets of the estate and trust. A recent opinion from the Surrogate Court in New York...

In most situations, the last person you would want to give the authority to administer your estate would be a former spouse. In fact, to avoid such a contingency, it’s a fairly common practice for parties to a divorce to include language in the divorce decree...

A will contest can be an expensive and time-consuming process. While the will contest is in process, beneficiaries will have no access to estate assets. Unfortunately, will contests can often be used to wrongfully gain leverage against other beneficiaries. As a...

When someone dies with a will in New York State, that person’s estate must generally be “settled” through filings and proceedings overseen by the probate court. Referred to as probate, this process can often be done without the need for litigation....